Methodological Guidance
OHCHR and its data partners aim to produce this indicator based on the highest quality data
possible. This is based on the following considerations:
Case-specific data
For this indicator, only statistics that can be broken down into specific cases involving one particular
victim of a human rights violation or abuse will be used for purposes of producing country-level,
regional and global estimates. This applies also in instances where official aggregated statistics are
available. This approach serves as a check against double counting, and ensures consistency and
comparability across the range of contributing data sources.
Defined event
A data source is also responsible for defining and classifying a violation or abuse that constitutes an
event in the statistical sense. For this purpose, the following analytical syntax would be useful:
“Who did what to whom, where and why?”
This translates into a minimum set of verifiable data that altogether defines the event (see, Table 1)
Table 1 – Elements of a statistical event covered by this indicator
Element
Who did
Field
Perpetrator
What
To whom
When
Violation or abuse type
Related violation or abuse
type (up to 3)
Name of victim
Victim Type
Sex of victim
Age group of victim
Date of incident
Category
State actor
Other actors acting with the State's
permission, support or acquiescence
Other actors not acting with the State's
permission, support or acquiescence/private
actors
Insufficient information
Killing
Enforced disappearance
Torture
Arbitrary Detention
Kidnapping
Other Harmful Acts
Killing
Enforced disappearance
Torture
Arbitrary Detention
Kidnapping
Other Harmful Acts
Free text
Journalist
Trade Unionist
Human Rights Defender
Man
Woman
Unknown
Adult (18 and above)
Child (below 18)
DD-Month-YYYY
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